Mickey the pit bull mauled a young boy in Phoenix, Arizona. The dog attacked a 4-year-old boy his owner was babysitting.

The boy was left with a broken eye socket and jaw, and has months and months of reconstructive surgery ahead of him.

While many people were screaming for blood, many other compassionate people thought a life sentence was less cruel.

A judge ended up sentencing the dog to life in prison, and ordered him defanged and neutered. That's when Sheriff Joe Arpaio stepped in.

If the name sounds familiar you probably know him for his intense views on illegal immigration (he hates it) and his less than great treatment of inmates at his prisons. One of those prisons has a "no-kill" animal shelter inside, and that's where Mickey will be staying.

Happy at the judge's decision, Sheriff Arpaio tweeted:

I want to thank Judge Griffith for saving the life of Mickey and sentencing him to my jail.

14 comments to “Pit Bull Sentenced To Life In Prison!! A Dog, Not The Performer!”

I hope the child makes a rapid recovery but some of these kids and dogs need to be trained and monitored. Ive trained my dog to be around people but I still dont let my guard down. Hope the dog is better off in this shelter, chances are it was some alarm system in some assholes yard.

This would be great in an ideal world, but when I think of all the over burdened shelters out there that have no choice but to kill unwanted animals (with no history of aggression), it seems odd to save this dog who has harmed a child. I would much rather see the care that is being given to this dog go to a dog with a greater possibility of becoming a family dog.

I am glad to hear this. I find it wrong to kill a animal for that reason. how about kill pedophiles when they harm a child. I am a huge animal lover and love animals much more then people. so I am sure I will get people saying " it is just a dog" fuck you it is just a dog. My dog is a family member my baby. and for one thing would never attack anyone. but if the situation did happen it would of been for a good damn reason. lol

What this article DOESN'T say is that the kid wandered off his property onto Mickey's and took a bone out of his mouth! Also, Mickey was tied up. Way to present both sides of the argument Perez…animal lover indeed.

Re: Psssht – I agree. I'm here in the Phoenix area, and like you know the whole story. Perez, you may want to let folks know, that while its sad for the little boy, it was NOT the dogs fault. The dog was tied. In a fenced yard eating on a bone. The boy wandered over into said fenced yard, and tried to take the bone from him. The dog didn't deserve to die. He was neutered, defanged, and declawed.

Publicity stunt I live in Arizona and arpaio will have the dog burned like he does the rest of them at the jail. Haha no kill shelter they incinerate the dogs behind the jail there is a smell around thAt area at night that is unmistakable. Shameless promotion for a man with no heart Get Arapaio out of AZ

In what universe sentencing a dog to life in a cage is more humane than injecting him? STOP humanizing animals for the love of everything that is holy! People MAY understand why they are imprisoned, dogs do not. Keeping the dog completely locked up at all times is the worst torture that can be given to an animal. If the dog wasn't agressive before, chances are he will become it. My understanding of this story is that the humans are to blame, not the animal. What happened is a tragedy, poor little guy! Animals can be terrific companions but we always have to keep in mind that they are animals not fluffy toys. Pit bulls are most usually great dogs but their strenght means greater damage when something goes wrong. That being said, more bites occur from small dogs so it is wrong to blame a breed.

Earlier this week, actress Mia Farrow tweeted the address of Palmer's dental practice, and Lisa herself retweeted the office's number. But have their actions and the public backlash -- which has led to heightened security in Palmer's town -- been too much?